Category: DSM-5 & Psychology

Diagnostic & Statistical Manual (DSM) & Psychology topics including autism, autistic spectrum disorders, intellectual disability, mental retardation & ADHD

Parents need to say to infants what they mean and mean what they say.

Topic: Why infants don’t sleep as they used to when left with babysitters & what to do about it. written by Dr. Cameron Jackson, licensed psychologist PSY14762 cameronjacks@gmail.com

I take care of a grandchild 2 mornings a week. He is 3 months old. This last week he did not sleep much as he used to do. His mother said that happened also this past week when left with the babysitter that comes the other 3 mornings.

I think the 3 month old knows mommy is gone and he is staying awake until she gets back. The child is vigilant concerning the loss of the most important object in his young life — mommy’s presence and mommy’s milk.

What might reduce this infant’s vigilance and mild anxiety? Knowing that she will return soon and that she will do what she says. Can this be taught to an infant? Certainly worth trying.

This infant and all infants need to hear a simple explanation ahead of time: Tomorrow, Mommy goes to work. Mommy comes back in 5 hours. While Mommy is gone, Grand-ma takes care of you. This is a picture of grand-ma. When gone you have a picture of me. I will do what I say. I come back soon.”

Parents need to say what they mean to infants and clearly and simply say what goes on. And then do it. The KISS principal.

Puppets are a wonderful way to teach the stories that infants need to hear. Use a simple, repetitive song to sing the story. It is not too young — in fact it is never too young — to tell infants ahead of time important things that affect their lives. Say clearly and simply, “tomorrow ma-ma goes and grand-ma comes….I come back soon….and fun things will happen while grand-ma cares for you…

Parents need to mean what they say and say what they mean in simple, clear terms talking to their infants. Tell them the important things that are happening in their young lives. And sing it as a simple song.

For example, Old MacDonald Had a Farm can be changed to “Mommy & Daddy have a House… eeeiiii eeeiiii eeeeiiii ooooo. And in that House there lives a boy…. eeeiiii….eeeiiii….eeeeiiiii…oooo. And Grand-ma comes to care for (name of child)….eeeiii…eeeiiii…eeeiiii ooooo. And Grand-ma brings fun things to do…. eeeiiii….eeeiii…eeiiii oooo.

Long before a child can look at a book he or she can hear stories sung in simple rhymes telling them the important events in their lives.

Here is an example: The child’s father wants a BOB stroller so he and mom can jog with their child. Ahead of time, They could improvise Yankee Doodle: The real tune goes like this: “Yankee Doodle went to town Riding on a pony; He stuck a feather in his hat and called it macaroni. Yankee Doodle fa, so, la, Yankee Doodle dandy, Yankee Doodle fa, so, la, Buttermilk and brandy.”

Instead, sing the tune to different words:
“Yankee (baby L) goes to town, A riding in his Bob-Bob. Dad sticks a flower in (name of baby) hat and calls it macaroni…..” And then Dad in fact puts a flower, or feather or whatever in Baby’s hat and off they go on their jog to town.

Done repetitively the child will connect the song with the coming ride in the stroller ahead of time. Knowing what is coming down the line can reduce anxiety about the future. This is a wonderful, easy way to teach language to infants. Use simple, repetitive rhymes sung to simple tunes. Sing the words slowly and clearly sometimes and sometimes quickly. Children need to hear the words clearly and distinctly and see the words illustrated by actions.

For just a few dollars you can get a used nursery rhyme book full of the old classics. Get the old rhymes and improvise. Teach your children your stories about the important events in your lifes. At Logos in Santa Cruz, for $4.00 I got Stories and Rhymes for Every Bedtime. It is full of all the classics.

Here is one I’m going to do next week using puppets to illustrate:

Ding Dong Bell
” Ding Dong bell, Pussy’s in the well. Who put her in? Little Tommy Green. Who pulled her out? Little Tommy Trout. What a naughty boy was that, to try and drown poor pussy cat. Who never did him any harm, and killed the mice in his Father’s barn.”

I have some small bells that I will ring. Ding, dong Bell (ring the bells). Ba-ba (bottle’s) in the Well (glass container to warm the milk) Who put it in? Ma-ma put it in. Who takes it out? Grand-ma takes it out (when nice and warm). Who gets it NOW? (name of child) gets in NOW!

This is one way that young infants hear stories ahead of events using language and song to talk about important events about to happen. Getting a warm bottle is a very important event in the life of a 3 month old. The old stories and rhymes are still useful today.

Let me know your favorite rhymes and stories that might be improvised in new ways with young infants.

written by Cameron S. Jackson, Ph.D., J.D. licensed psychologist DrCameronJackson@gmail.com

831 688-6002

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How reduce autism? Teach ALL first time parents how to socialize infants. Cheap and easily done.

Undoubtedly Nancy Marks means well by establishing a new 30 million foundation at Mass General Hospital to reduce autism. However, sometimes it is not money that is needed. Nor another Chair established at Harvard.

What is needed? Put on the Internet simple ways for ALL first time parents how to socialize infants and young children. And put those tools in the hands of pediatricians who can follow up with contacts with appropriate professionals. Think of it like strengthening muscles. See the following article and my comments:

“A recent donation from a foundation will help establish an autism center at Mass General Hospital.

The $29 million donation is been given by Nancy Lurie Marks and her foundation, and will help establish the Lurie Family Autism Center at the hospital. The center will base itself on the hospital’s LADDERS program, which helps deal with autism in young people.

Lurie Marks said that it has been a “lifelong dream” to help establish a center that can treat people with autism with compassion and dignity.

“I believe it is so important to address their many lifelong needs, from the medical care of the child or adult, to learning to find an effective way to communicate, to planning lifetime living and learning opportunities, to advocating for families,” Marks said.

Founded by Dr Margaret Bauman in 1981, the LADDERS program covers a variety of disciplines, including neurology, developmental pediatrics and gastroenterology. Many of the children helped by the program are grown up now, which is where the Lurie Family Autism Center will come into play.

The center will provide for a number of areas, including occupational and physical therapy. Furthermore, it will help create a two-year fellowship program for physicians and researchers who deal with autism. The fellowship will give young physicians the chance to work more closely with patients who have autism.

The hunt is on for a director for the new center, who will hold an endowed chair at the Harvard Medical School. The director will be responsible with guiding the center toward providing new treatments for people with autism.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the average ratio of children with autistic disorders is one of every 150. That ration can be as much as one in every 100, to one in every 300 children.

Licensed psychologist Dr. Cameron Jackson says:

Why not spend very little money and ask licensed professionals for their views re “new treatments for autism”?

I have spent 8 years assessing children of all ages for autism. I am a psychologist not a medical doctor.

My view: teach ALL first time parents how to socialize infants, how to get early and regular eye contact, how to create “joint attention” (focus on breast or bottle or toy) how to teach eye gaze that follows a point, how to teach imitating.Etc.

Teach the skills that when not present get labeled under “autistic spectrum disorders” This is better done by psychologists — not by medical MD type people.

If we teach for ALL children we will also pick up those who are late in developing skills that eventually get labeled “autistic”.

This does not take 30 million and a chair at Harvard. It does take collaboration by professionals trained in speech, occupational therapy, sensory issues, psychology and medicine.

Too bad to spend so much on so little.

Dr. Jackson cameronjacks@gmail.com
Licensed Psychologist PSY14762
Monterey Bay Forum www.freedomOK.net/wordpress


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How much time is sufficeint notice when parents move child to private school?

Four hours a week of school during the summer for a 4 year old autistic child is NOT sufficient. Understandably the parents sought another solution. But the parents did not NOTIFY the school when they sought private school solution. See below story. Lesson to be learned: put it in writing. give sufficient notice before seeking other solutions. How much time sufficient notice? Enough to get the accounting department to operate — so 30 days should be sufficient notice.

Parents of autistic boy got only $2,957 compared to 20 K they sought

BY SADIA LATIFI,
“A state review officer awarded partial reimbursement to an Orange County family who enrolled their 4-year-old special-needs son in a private preschool.

“Both parents and the Orange County Schools system made procedural errors in providing services for Owen McWhirter, who has autism, according to review officer Joe Walters.

“The school system’s errors deprived Owen of educational services for months, the decision said. Because of this, they failed to provide him with the “free, appropriate public education” required by law.

The school system did provide an adequate Individualized Education Program for Owen at the time, however, according to the decision.

Families work with the school district to create an IEP. While Owen’s IEP team agreed on goals last summer, the family thought the services prescribed — about four hours a week of special instruction — were inadequate.

“When the family and school reached an impasse, Owen’s parents enrolled him in a private preschool that let him have specialists on hand. Even after they enrolled him, they continued to request services from Orange County and filed for due process last fall.

Owen’s parents, Nicole and Arran McWhirter, took the matter to an administrative court in Raleigh where a state judge agreed.

The original decision, which the school system appealed, said the school system should reimburse the McWhirters for their educational expenses.

The new decision awards the McWhirters $2,956.60, which is about $20,000 less than the reimbursement they sought. Review officer Walters said this was partly because the McWhirters failed to give the school system adequate prior notice when they enrolled Owen in a private preschool.

The school district and the McWhirters now have 30 days to file an appeal in state or federal court.

Note the legal time both sides have to file an appeal: 30 days. Had the parents given the school district 30 days more than likely award would have been larger.

Cameron Jackson cameronjacks@gmail.com 831 688-6002
sadia.latifi@newsobserver.com or 919-932-2002

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Aptos psychologist: service dogs more than a friend for autistic children

Federal law allows service dogs to go where ever they are needed in public — including to school. Think of what a dog can do for any child: give unconditional love, exemplify loyalty, faithfulness, courage. For autistic children they can offer a special bond and assist the child to become more social.

Check out what is necessary for your dog to be certified as a service dog. For any person with disabilities a service dog could assist in important ways. And it is simply right that the dogs be able to assist in public places including schools.

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Autistic children cost the most but congress appropriates ONLY 14%

art by pre school children
art by pre school children

The tension comes because the federal government sets the “free and appropriate” standard for special education services BUT congress typically funds only about 14 percent of the actual cost. That leaves the states and local districts with the burden.

For very young children in California the parents can create their own program and get it funded by a regional center. Takes work but might be worth it. Also, parents can go to their churches and places of worship and get space to start programs. No rent and the use of volunteer parents and guidance from professionals can make for very helpful programs for children with autistic spectrum disorders.

When our daughter was one I started a child care center for families in crises. Located in a church there was no rent. Church and community members provided 3/4 of the labor costs. I was a volunteer Director for years. That child care center — Calvary Childcare in Santa Cruz — still serves the community. That was 25 years ago. Now, not then, children today have to be 2 1/2 and toilet trained.

Cameron Smith Jackson cameronjacks@gmail.com 831 688-6002

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www.freedomOK.net/wordpress sensory integation issues common with autism. how to help.

some only like crunch!
some only like crunch!

Sensory integration issues are common with children who have autistic spectrum dificulties. There are lots of ways to help: for high sensitivity to noise, try ear phones. For high tolerance to pain try head gear to protect their heads.

For those “picky” eaters go with their sensitivities and get vitamin pills or the V8 juice that has fruit in it. Very tasty and that way they get their vitamins.

Sometimes you can generalize. For the child who only likes catsup on pasta try a little catsup when serving other dishes. Or for the child who only likes crunchy foods try sprinkling crunch on top of other foods. That helps to expand thier “bubble” of acceptable foods. Let us know how this works for you.
Dr. Cameron Jackson, licensed psychologist cameronjacks@gmail.com 831 688-6002

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Aptos Psychologist: How to teach consequences for bevavior to autistic children. www.freedomOK.net/wordpress

1866137506_e3f7fa13a31

Yes, it IS possible to teach CONSEQUENCES for behavior to children with autism. Here is an account by a single mother with two children, one child has autism. What she says makes good, common sense to me. Dr. Jackson at cameronjacks@gmail.com

To email the author contact her at Sylraen@sbcglobal.net Here is what she writes:

“Saac was faced with two alternatives. He could either stay inside all day every day or go outside and face the terrifying noises that arrived with the onset of summer; cicadas rattling, mosquitoes humming, and bees that buzzed at every flower. He weighed his options on the playground carefully. There were steam shovels that pushed dirt around, swings that carried you to the sky, and best of all, his scooter equipped with his space helmet. Yes, of all the toys, the scooter was the best alternative. At least it was fast and he could hope to fly past the alien invaders and their cruel sounds and threats to overcome him.

Tentatively he peeked out the door, scanning the horizon. “So far so good,” he thought. No bugs. He boarded his scooter timidly and took off. Immediately he was bombarded with a loud whirring and humming in his ear. Shrieking, he flung himself to the ground and awaited a fate worse than death.

Corinne, his mom watched him sadly. This had been an ongoing struggle that she had no idea how to deal with. Then an idea struck her. She had just been telling Isaac a story about a boy named David who fought a giant. She had tried to explain that he had overcome the giant by his bravery and his faith in an attempt to help him understand. He didn’t seem to understand. To him, even facing a giant was preferable to facing the sounds that overloaded his senses as an autistic child.

Then she had an idea. She had bought him a set of toy armor. Why not put it on him and encourage him to go face the terrors with his sword swinging. Better yet, why not make him the character in his own giant story. That afternoon and for the next few days she worked writing out the story that was forming in her mind and sketching out the characters. When she was done she called him over and told him the story. It was called Isaac and the Scare Giant, about a boy who was tormented by a giant who jumped out every time the boy was afraid and turned him into stone. The boy won however because he made the giant disappear by saying some magic words and by swinging his sword of truth. When the story was finished Corinne reviewed the magic words with Isaac and sent him out to play, crossing her fingers and hoping Isaac understood.

Isaac mounted his scooter a little more bravely. At least he had amour on and a sword. He rode out, his heart pounding in his chest. Sure enough a cicada started to whir and rattle menacingly in the tree above him and felt his skin turn clammy. Ok, according to his mom there was a scare giant. Though he couldn’t see it like in the story, it was there and it was shouting. He looked at his mom and she was telling him to say the words. He brandished his sword with one hand, his finger in his other ear and muttered. “You’re just a bug. I’m not afraid of you. Go away bug or I’ll cut you in two”. He felt a little better and the rattling seemed to stop.

A mosquito was the next to pounce. He brandished his sword a little more vigorously and actually made it go away. It returned diving at his ears, its sinister whine rattling his eardrums. He hit it with sword again. The mosquito retreated, stunned. He fought that mosquito and every bug that came within reach till the sweat ran down his face. With a menacing scowl he mounted his scooter with a swagger that befit a warrior, daring any bugs or scare giants to frighten him again.

Prologue

That was five years ago and since that initial success, there have been many more battles with fear battles of all sorts for Corinne and Isaac. What was important was that they both learned what their enemy was and how to fight it. Of course there were days of battles with insect noises when Isaac cowered and ran to Corinne but she had learned to become his cheerleader. Instead of panicking or overreacting she spoke bracingly to him. “Fight him Isaac.” She would say, “Fight that giant. Get your sword and win this fight”. Though Corinne had written a picture book meant for a child, the truth of the story had helped her too and would stay with her for a long long time.

Moral of the story

It is important to find the right tools to enable the autistic child to fight his fears, for a fight is what it is and needs to be addressed as such.

Here are a few tools that Corinne employed:

– She realized that beneath every paralyzing fear is a lie.

– She addressed the fear and spoke the truth.

– She cast a vision for a fear free way of thinking by reading stories of others who had conquered their fears.

– She believed in her son’s ability to fight his fears and became his cheerleader in the battle.

Life is full of many battles to face. Depending on the severity of the autism, the battle can be harder and more difficult than any yet faced. It is helpful and encouraging to know however, that others are fighting similar battles and that the battle can be won on many fronts though the struggle may be long.

Fact- Isaac is a child who has been diagnosed with mild autism. Autism is defined by the Autism Society Of America (ASA) as: “Autism is a complex developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life and is the result of a neurological disorder that affects the normal functioning of the brain, impacting development in the areas of social interaction and communication skills. Both children and adults with autism typically show difficulties in verbal and non-verbal communication, social interactions, and leisure or play activities.” Along with these symptoms is a hypersensitivity to noises and light which causes the child to act out or withdraw. www.definitionofautism.com/

Author: C.J. Yang
C.J. Yang is an Examiner from Chicago. You can see C.J.’s articles on C.J.’s Home Page.
Besides pursuing a teaching career and working on a novel she is a single mom to two children, one who is autistic. She can be contacted at sylraen@sbcglobal.net.

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Aptos psychologist: how to teach a child with autism the link between behavior and consequences. This works seems to me.

“It can take a great deal of time before an autistic child recognizes a link between behavior and consequences.

The child with autism can be just as precocious and just as adventurous as the typically developing child. Sitting still or paying attention at school is not always the highest priority. What makes the guidance of behavior so difficult when it comes to autism is the challenge of comprehension and explaining to them that certain behaviors are not acceptable.

This is the year we became successful with our son discovering that misbehavior at school will cause him to lose privileges when he gets home. At first we weren’t sure if it was an issue of memory or an issue of comprehension. It turned out to be neither. It was the link between the two concepts that had been elusive to him.

Behaviors to be discouraged vary and most require further explanation. “Kicking” is one behavior he had previously engaged in. This is a misleading term since the behavior was actually his desire to place his shoe on a peer or staff member. His intention was not to do harm, but to seek attention or a reaction of some sort. “Inappropriate touching” is a behavior that must be addressed for obvious reasons in a classroom setting. This can happen when an autistic child is discovering certain sensations. Explaining why the behavior is inappropriate is often not effective. “Destruction of property” in our case meant that our son feels the need to close any open laptop he encounters. He often does this with a great amount of force. We certainly do not want to pay for any broken laptops.

The school my son attends turned out to be helpful in implementing a system for providing awareness to his behavior. This system is the simple use of three different colored stickers that go on his shirt at the end of the day. A green sticker indicates that he had a good day. Red is bad, and yellow means there were some issues (also bad). Yellow days and red days would result in a loss of access to his favorite things at home. This meant no computer, no television and no Xbox. When he made requests for these items we would respond with “No Xbox, you had a red day!”

It was a matter of two to three red or yellow days before the connection was made. It was a noticeable moment of awareness both for us parents and his aid at school. The aid capitalized on this development by giving warnings when behaviors were beginning. “Don’t have a red day or no computer at home” helped to guide behavior. We were more than happy to comply with any consequences at home to maintain the continuity of the method. Everyone makes it known how well he’s done on the completion of a “green” day, even if lately this has been every day.

For an eight-year-old boy there are always challenges with behavior issues at school. In the case of an autistic child, improving misbehavior can seem like a daunting task. There will be more incidents in the future, but having a proven method of responding to these incidents brings confidence that they will be fewer and further between. As in many cases, establishing routines with consistency helps to show the autistic child the way.

For more info: Classroom discipline for autistic students

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Lots of stimulation helps premature babies develop to full potential. Weight not time matters. www.freedomOK.net/wordpress

1051320760_341724cffc1Weight Determines The Future Cognitive Development Of Children Born Very Premature
Article Date: 03 Jul 2009

What the following suggests is that EARLY and CONTINUAL stimulation of the central nervous system THROUGH THE FULL DEVELOPMENTAL PERIOD UP TO AGE 16 will maximize cognitive IQ development. So, hold that preme! Sing to that preme! Rock that preme! Weight not length of time in the tummy makes the dfference between babies. Wow! See below:

Researchers of the Department of Neuroscience and Health Sciences of the University of Almería and Hospital Torrecárdenas are carrying out an assessment of the physical neuropsychological characteristics of children born before 32 weeks’ gestation or whose weight is lower than 1500 grams -very premature-. The main aim of this project, coordinated by M Dolores Roldán Tapia, from the UAL, is to accurately define the origin of brain damage, so as to stimulate the affected area early thus causing the adequate cognitive and motric development of the individual.

The commonest differences between premature babies and those born after a nine-month pregnancy are mainly related to visoperceptive skills, memory and movement which eventually translate into learning and spatial orientation difficulties. That is why these difficulties that these children have in their cognitive performance and the development of perceptual and executive functions are being studied.

A population sample of 35 very premature children is being taken for this project, together with the same number of healthy children, all of them born between 2000 and 2001, with their parents’ authorisation. Special attention has been paid to the fact that both the children and their parents have similar educational and social levels, as the stimulation they get in the early stages of their lives has a decisive influence in their later development.

The results obtained so far reveal that the decisive variable for the existence of a reversible or irreversible brain damage is the baby’s weight at birth, rather than the time of gestation. According to experts, an early stimulation of the individual’s central nerve system, from birth until his complete cognitive development at 16 years of age, in foetuses whose weight at birth is over 1,500 gr. or who are very premature, will eventually get ideal cognitive levels. However, this stimulation must be continued throughout the whole development of babies whose weight is lower than 1,500 gr. so that they can get a proper brain maturity.

As a complement to this project, Alemeria-based researchers are developing an epidemiological study so as to set the percentage of very premature children who have brain damage against the total number of children born under the same characteristics between 2000 and 2001. This study is funded by Fundación para la Investigación Biosanitaria de Andalucía Oriental-Alejandro Otero (FIBAO, Alejandro Otero foundation for bio-health research in eastern Andalusia). Moreover, in collaboration with the University of Granada, experts are developing another line of research whose aim is to determine the existing relationship between visoperceptive skill deficit and the level of reasoning in very premature children.

In the near future, the team of researchers of the University of Almeria will be expanding their research and including new variables that may make a determining brain difference in very premature babies, like for example, the brain difference between babies born in natural multiple births and those with artificial techniques, or the interaction between pre-maturity and bad nutrition.

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Aptos psychologist: what wise comments have you heard about autism?

Autism Vox has thoughts concerning the most helpful statements that have stuck with her regarding her autistic son now almost an adult. One was, it is not the hand you are dealt but what you do with it. So true.

I would add, keep looking for new ways to communicate. Get a dog the child can train and interact with. Find a trainer who knows how to work with autistic children. Try water. Surfing or simply listening to the waves can sooth and open communication. Music and singing are other avenues.

In my view, Applied Behavioral Analysis has serious limitations. Don’t trust the verbage you hear about ABA being the only scientifically based therapy. Any good therapist uses art and science. And serendipity. written by Cameron Jackson cameronjacks@gmail.com

For more, visit Autism Vox

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